Living out of a suitcase and traveling to places such as Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand within a matter of weeks sounds like a once in a lifetime college backpacking trip, but for Sam Cyr, a class of 2005 graduate, it is just another day at the office.

Cyr is a professional golfer on the Asian Tour, the principal men’s professional golf tour in Asia.  Host countries include India, Myanmar, Philippines, and South Korea just to name a few.

“The Asian Tour has been a good opportunity, it’s definitely opened up some doors,” said Cyr, who has flown more than 100,000 miles over the past two years.

Although Cyr is living his childhood dreams, it hasn’t always been what he exactly imagined.  “My path has been different in the sense that I had a dream to play collegiate and professional golf,” said Cyr.  He just never pictured how it would look like.

Courtesy of the Asian Tour

“I thought I would be playing in the United States, but I am so blessed looking back at the experiences that I have had over the last few years playing on the Asian Tour.  I am traveling the world and learning so much. …It’s been a crazy road for me for sure, but it’s been awesome,” he said.

As a Kekaulike student, Cyr was known for his golfing skills, winning the Maui Interscholastic League individual boys golf championship title during his senior year.  His talents also helped to lead the KKHS golf team to win three MIL championships during his high school career.

He attended Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego, California, earning a business administration degree and playing on the men’s golf team.  While in college, Cyr was a four-time All-American, won 12 tournaments and two NAIA national championships (2008 and 2009).

Cyr’s first pro win came at the 2010 Mid-Pacific Open, by two shots over PGA Tour winner Dean Wilson. His second and third came the next year, at the Hawaii State and Maui opens.

During the 2013 season, Cyr made $97,271 in tournament earnings, ranking him 39th in the Order of Merit, a ranking of player winnings for the Asian Tour.

Courtesy of the Asian Tour

Reflecting back on high school, Cyr gives practical advice about success, “I think that the decisions we make each day do influence our tomorrow. High school is a great time to set your future up and make your goals for the upcoming years,” he said.

Still single, Cyr is adapting to his increasingly busy life, “ I am learning how to balance my life with travel and business obligations,” he said.

Cyr’s ultimate dream is to one-day play on the coveted PGA Tour and with his track record of achievement, he is well on his way of making his dreams a reality.

Cyr was recently featured in a Star Advertiser Sports Feature.  Check it out at:
www.kkhsalumni.org/cyr-gets-featured-in-star-advertiser

Will Weston, a class of 2002 graduate, has traveled quite a bit in the 11 years since graduating from King Kekaulike.  Western Europe, China, New Zealand, Japan, and Vietnam; these are a handful of the countries where he has ventured.  He attributes his love for travel from the fortune and limitation that came from growing up in Hawai‘i.

“We were lucky, yes, and people will remind us that for the rest of our lives every time they ask us where we came from, but it was also challenging to feel as though we were connected to or knew anything about how the rest of the world worked,” he said.

His journey thus far has been filled with balancing conventional decisions about his continued education, with growth and exploration through travel and music.  Choosing to attend the University of Colorado and briefly studying abroad in Europe, he earned his BA in English with a focus on creative writing.  After graduation he traveled across the United States by train and bicycle before settling down in San Francisco to acquire his Masters of Fine Arts with a focus in creative writing.

Will Weston, the traveler.

“It should be said that I really stayed in school more to give myself more time to think about what I realistically wanted to do than to follow a specific career track in writing.”

Since completing his formal education, Will has gone on to pursue a new adventure. This adventure requires more grit, fearlessness and determination than his travels across the globe – entrepreneurialism.

“I made the right connections with the right people and ended up in the right place at the right time working for an older guy who was ready to retire and sell his place,” said Weston.

“I formed a partnership with three other guys, took out the loans, and bought the place. We’ve run it for a year and a half now, and turned it into one of the more interesting, eccentric small live music venues in downtown San Francisco.”

His profession is also closely intertwined with his passion, music.  Having pursued music in various degrees of seriousness since childhood, his current occupation has allowed for continued creative growth.  “I’ve chosen a career path that allows me the freedom to create my own schedule in the hopes of pursuing things like this with as much heart as I have for it.”

Weston released his debut album “Quiet Sirens” in 2012 and has utilized his formal education in creative writing to compose rock/funk/blues/jazz inspired songs with great lyrics.

Will Weston is the owner of Café Royale on the corner of Post & Leavenworth in downtown San Francisco.

When asked about his years at King Kekaulike High School he says that although it now seems a lifetime ago, he remembers it very fondly.  He speaks kindly of retired teacher Mrs. Weeks. Expressing that she, “held people accountable” and “was definitely an extremely valuable asset to a number of people in our graduating class.”

Like many, the details of high school are now obscure, but he recalls fights across the street and playing in his band for pep rallies. The sort of memories many hold on to about that time of adolescence.  Not a lot of particular detail, but memories that speak to those wonderful childhood freedoms.

With combined conventional, as well as real life knowledge, it wasn’t a surprise that he offered a few words of advice for current students to consider.

“Have patience, and not to emphasize too much importance on what transpires in those insanely confusing developmental years. There is so much more comfort in the years ahead, as you learn about who you truly are and who you want to be in the world.  If you’re kind to people, if your intentions are good, it’s rare that you won’t be rewarded in some greater sense in the long run,” he said.

If you would like to hear and purchase some of Will Weston’s music, please visit www.willweston.bandcamp.com, or if you so happen to be in the downtown San Francisco area, stop in to Café Royale, on the corner of Post & Leavenworth, he’ll gladly extend a kama‘āina discount to fellow King Kekaulike alums!

Thought you were happy at graduation when your years at KKHS were coming to an end?  Take a look at the smiles on this gathering of retired teachers from King Kekaulike who met together for lunch last November.  Eleven of the 15 teachers/counselors/administration who have retired from our high school met together with principal Susan Scofield at the Bistro Casanova in Kahului.

As teachers are prone to do, they talked the entire time catching up on each other’s whereabouts since leaving KKHS.

Seated: Marilyn Nomura, Susan Scofield, Janie King Standing: Ed Enomoto, Warren Liu, Carolyn Johnson, David Fukuda, Ron Pisciotto, Dennis Dias, Trisha Grimley, Cary Honda, Kurtis Saiki.

Ron Piscotto expressed concern that all the stories had been told and there would nothing to say at the next gathering.  Then he realized at this group’s age, everyone would probably forget everything they heard by the January get together.

A special thank you to the following individuals for making contributions to the KKHS Alumni Association in the Fall of 2013:

• Ronald Pisciotto
• Susan and Tracy Scofield
• David & Judith Fukuda
• Dr. Ted Kanamori, DDS
• Trisha Grimley
• Councilmember Mike White
• Maui Rents
• Lynn Beauchamp
• D&D Party Rentals

The King Kekaulike Alumni Association hosted its first annual reception prior to the homecoming football game in the KKHS gym on Friday, September 27, 2013. Current, retired and previous teachers along with alums representing various classes attended the informal meet and greet.

“This is the just the start,” said Alumni Association President Troy Hashimoto – ‘05. “ We hope this event will continue to grow and we will hold many more events that can bring together the Kekaulike community,” he said.

Working for over a year, the Alumni Association Board has been working to establish a strong foundation with goals that include raising funds for future scholarships, assisting with class reunion events and most importantly, supporting the broader Kekaulike community.

Attendees of the 2013 King Kekaulike Homecoming meeting and greet.

One of Association’s most recent steps was to start giving alumni an identity. With the assistance of Kekaulike graphics teacher and board member, Ryan Arakawa – ‘00 along with Crivello Designs, the Association has started the sale of alumni t-shirts for $15. They can be purchased online at www.kkhsalumni.org/alumni-t-shirt and pick-up can be arranged.

The Association has also been participating in various Kekaulike events, including the Homecoming pre-game parade, Kekaulike Matsuri and Kekaulike Karnival. Board member Kalo DeLeon – ’02, employed his crafty wood working skills and impressively built a beanbag tossing game that will be used at various alumni fundraising events. His board has already been successfully used both at both the Matsuri and the Karnival.

A new award for alumni is also now taking nominations. Through the work of Kekaulike Senior, Joebelle Bonete, an “Alumni of the Year” award has been launched.  As part of her senior project, Bonete has been consulting with the Alumni Association to develop criteria for this new honor. An extension of the student, teacher and class of the year awards, her goal is to feature alumni who have made accomplishments that can inspire the Kekaulike community. Nominations for the inaugural award are closed for this year, but be sure to look out for the nomination period next year. 

Looking forward to the next few months, the Alumni Association is seeking sponsorships for a possible alumni scholarship and is also encouraging alumni to become judges for Kekaulike Senior projects, which will be held on Friday, March 14, 2014. Please consider participating.

The Alumni Association is continaully looking for new ideas. If you have any thoughts on what the Association should be doing or have any ideas for this newsletter, please do not hesitate to send an e-mail at info@kkhsalumni.org. Thanks for reading!